Thief Returning to PC (and coming to Next-Gen)

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the beloved stealth franchise is finally returning… and it doesn’t look like a diminishing return, either. Thief, the upcoming fourth instalment in the Thief series, will be coming back to PC, as well as making an appearance on next-generation consoles.

Labelled as a “reinvention of a franchise”, Thief will apparently still retain the master thief Garrett as its protagonist, and the City as its seedy setting. Square Enix, the publisher holding Thief‘s distribution rights, claimed through a press release that the series’ trademark non-linear gameplay will also be emphasized as the player’s “freedom to choose their path through the game’s levels and how they approach and overcome each challenge.”

The press release also noted that Eidos Montreal was developing the game, hot off the heels of resurrecting Deus Ex. Eidos Montreal’s GM, Stephane D’Astous, noted the studio’s respect for the series’ trademark mechanics is vital to the development of the next instalment: “We’re handling a precious gemstone with Thief. Fans remember the original games very fondly and we want to preserve that essence which we have excellent experience of doing at Eidos Montréal, whilst also introducing Thief to a brand new, next-generation, audience.”

No release date has been set, and specific consoles are still to be announced. Updates to the game’s status will be released as the year progresses.